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When Tara Hall discovered her great-uncle Norman had been shot down in WWII, his story became an enigma that haunted her family for generations. In this poignant episode, my Ancestry colleague Tara shares how Norman joined the Army Air Corps as a navigator, following in his older brother's footsteps. Shot down over Germany on just his third mission, Norman's body remained unidentified for twelve years, leaving his family in painful limbo. Through military records and precious letters, Tara uncovered not just how Norman died, but glimpses of who he truly was—a young man who secretly read poetry and promised his father, "Don't worry about me, Dad." As we approach Memorial Day, this story reminds us of the profound ripple effects war creates across generations, and how family history transforms enigmas into cherished ancestors whose memories provide strength and resilience.〰️
A Bonding Love Tale Of Two Car Nuts by Flying CarmanEighteen-year-old Torino "Tori" Crystal, an extremely beautiful young lady, is feeling like her life has been completely destroyed. First, her parents were separately murdered three months ago and nobody has been caught and charged. Plus, she feels so isolated and alone since she's been made fun of pretty much her whole life for hanging out at her father's hot rod shop and not chasing boys. Mainly, however, it's due to the fact that her eyes are two different colors. However, as she's on the train from Queens, NY to Atlanta, GA, she meets twenty-two year-old Ted Carlton, a very handsome young man who owns his own auto detail and restoration business. However, the first time Ted sees Tori, it seems that her dead parents are trying to get them together. Plus, when Tori sees her new friend's farm, she suddenly remembers a dream she had of seeing this exact farm, and meant that the owner of it would help her. As their friendship slowly transforms, Tori's courage and self-confidence begin to slowly rebuild, but she keeps getting troubled by extremely disturbing nightmares. It's not until the end of the week that this young lady finally is told of her true heritage and how she must take her place and earn the title of 'Warrior Queen'.Flying Carman is fourth cousin twice removed of Clyde Cessna, founder of the Cessna Aircraft Company and his father, Carl Cessna, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. His main hobbies are collecting diecast cars and planes, reading, watching movies, researching paranormal hauntings, and listening to Taylor Swift songs. He also supports his girlfriend Oksanka, an actress who immigrated to the United States from Russia, but whose family is from Russia and Ukraine. They both support the Ukrainians in their fight for independence. He currently lives in Taneytown, Maryland with his mom, Karen, and his two cars: Raye, a feisty 1949 Dodge Meadowbrook R/T, and Selina, a sassy 2010 Dodge Charger SXT.https://flyingcarmanbooks.com/ BOOK 1 BOOK 2 BOOK 3https://blueinkscribble.com/Trials of the Three Princesses Book 2From Damsel in Distress to Warrior Princess Book 3
Melvin Hurwirz was 16 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Within just a few years, all four boys in his family were at war, each in a different branch of the service. After enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Hurwitz was assigned as a gunner and as a radio man for a B-17 bomber crew after an aptitude test showed his proficiency at Morse Code. His crew then had a bit of an adventure flying the bomber over to Great Britain. It was Spring 1945 by the time he saw his first bombing mission.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Hurwitz explains why he chose the Army Air Corps, what he was thinking as he went up on that first mission, and the amount of enemy resistance he faced in those final weeks of the war.Hurwitz also details his four bombing missions, particularly two aimed at German personnel still in France and how his was among the first planes ever to drop napalm in Europe. Hurwitz also tells us about bringing desperately-needed humanitarian aid to Belgium and the Netherlands at the end of the war and bringing French POW's back from Germany.
By subjugating Ukraine, Putin hopes to reassert Russia's status as a great power, discourage other neighbours from pivoting west, and distract from domestic issues through nationalist fervour. Ultimately, Putin fears the erosion of Russia's imperial legacy and the contagion of democratic aspirations among his own people—making Ukraine not just a strategic interest, but an existential concern for his rule and survival. It's not about economic, territory or minerals, so why would Putin stop until he has erased Ukraine as a sovereign entity and a bulwark of democratisation? ----------Dominic Nicholls is Associate Editor for Defence) at the Telegraph and co-host of podcast ‘Ukraine: The Latest'. Dominic served for 23 years in the British Army with operational deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Northern Ireland. Originally a cavalry officer in The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards he later transferred to the Army Air Corps where he flew Gazelle helicopters. ----------LINKS: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/d/dk-do/dominic-nicholls/https://domnicholls.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-nicholls-54a14134https://x.com/domnicholls?lang=en-GB ----------Your support is massively appreciated! SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon CurtainNEXT EVENTS - LVIV, KYIV AND ODESA THIS MAY.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER - A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In this epiosde, I spoke with Lawrence V. Drake regarding his latest book "Pilots and Painted Ladies: 493rd Bomb Squadron and the Air War in the CBI". Raised on a farm in Montana, Vernon Drake enlisted in the Army Air Corp in the spring of 1942. Assigned to the 493rd Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Group of the 10th Air Force stationed in India, he piloted B-24 bombers into Burma in a fight to prevent the Japanese from advancing north to China, then flew C-108 gas-hauling tankers across the formidable Himalayas to support the U.S. and Allied armies.
In this episode, our host Ash Bhardwaj speaks with Major Russ Archer of the Army Air Corps. With a wealth of experience in leadership and command, Russ shares his perspective on what it truly means to lead in complex environments. Russ discusses the challenges of preparing soldiers for the realities of modern warfare, highlighting the balance between discipline, adaptability, and trust. He reflects on the importance of developing leaders who can think independently, make sound decisions under pressure, and empower their teams to operate effectively. Drawing from his own experiences, he emphasises that leadership isn't about having all the answers but about creating the conditions for others to succeed. He also explores the evolving nature of leadership, particularly in the context of Mission Command. Russ explains how leaders must build strong, cohesive teams that can take initiative, make sense of ambiguity, and operate with confidence when guidance is limited. Join us as we unpack the key principles of leadership with Major Russ Archer - covering trust, autonomy, and the vital role of junior leaders in shaping operational success.
In this episode, our host Ash Bhardwaj speaks with Major Russ Archer of the Army Air Corps. With a wealth of experience in leadership and command, Russ shares his perspective on what it truly means to lead in complex environments. Russ discusses the challenges of preparing soldiers for the realities of modern warfare, highlighting the balance between discipline, adaptability, and trust. He reflects on the importance of developing leaders who can think independently, make sound decisions under pressure, and empower their teams to operate effectively. Drawing from his own experiences, he emphasises that leadership isn't about having all the answers but about creating the conditions for others to succeed. He also explores the evolving nature of leadership, particularly in the context of Mission Command. Russ explains how leaders must build strong, cohesive teams that can take initiative, make sense of ambiguity, and operate with confidence when guidance is limited. Join us as we unpack the key principles of leadership with Major Russ Archer - covering trust, autonomy, and the vital role of junior leaders in shaping operational success.
On March 7, 1942, a pivotal moment in history occurred as the first Black pilots joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. At the height of World War II, these brave men, fighting for both freedom abroad and racial equality at home, displayed extraordinary courage, belief in the greater good, and unwavering determination. These qualities defined the 992 black pilots, including the 450 who served overseas.Known as the Red Tails, they earned the respect of fellow servicemen through their valor, unmatched skills, and relentless dedication, both on the battlefield and beyond. While the fight for racial equality was no different on base, in the US or overseas, the Tuskegee Airmen charged forward. As we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and celebrate Tuskegee Airmen Day on March 7th, Donna & Jonathan honor their legacy and the profound impact they had on changing hearts and minds near and far.Resources:https://play.history.com/specials/tuskegee-airmen-legacy-of-courage/full-special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmcpILi1Rxchttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74e175p40qoNow You Know:https://www.thewarandtreaty.com/Instagram:@DonnaJaneen#airforce #military #worldwar2 #tuskegee #tuskegeeairmen
Issue 194 - Thunderbolt Ross Intro Captain America: Brave New World reaction coming to Patreon Background (1:38) General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) Lieutenant General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross oversees gamma bomb project that ultimately leads to the creation of the Hulk (Bruce Banner) Grew up in a military family, and was focused on serving his country from a young age - joined the Army Air Corps (later Air Force) and worked his way up through the ranks Bruce's growing relationship with Ross' daughter Betty was a source of frustration and anger for him, as was the recurring nuisance of the Hulk - Ross made it his personal mission to find and destroy the Hulk Several times he allied with villains to battle the Hulk, which ultimately led to his dismissal from the military Betty and Bruce get engaged, but the Leader turns Hulk savage, and the wedding is called off - Betty later marries Glenn Talbot, and Ross is satisfied that Banner will never be his son-in-law When Talbot was captured by the Soviets in a rescue mission to save Ross, his apparent death fractured his relationship with Betty, as well as a demotion at work because of his inability to capture the Hulk Betty divorced Talbot and revealed she still loved Bruce - enraged by this, Ross allied with MODOK to have the Abomination kill the Hulk, but Betty caught wind of the plan and accused her father of treason - he was discharged from the Air Force and nearly committed suicide When Bruce and Betty get married, Ross shows up at the wedding with a gun to stop the ceremony - Rick Jones intervenes and is shot non-fatally In a SHIELD experiment he merges with Zzzax, a being of sentient electrical energy - in a battle with a mutant, he expends his energy to save Betty, and dies His body was resurrected by the Leader, and he rejoins the Air Force After Betty is killed by the Abomination and Hulk is exiled by the Illuminati, Ross sinks into an alcoholic depression - when Steve Rogers is shot, he is visited by MODOK and the Leader and offered a chance to gain Hulk-like powers - he then becomes Red Hulk, and his first act is to kill the Abomination for murdering Betty Ross' identity as the Hulk is kept secret for over two years before being revealed during World War Hulks He later joins the Avengers, where he befriended an LMD named Annie that helped give him some perspective and understanding about things Temporarily bonds with both the Venom symbiote and the Spirit of Vengeance, becoming a being known as the Circle of Four - this is to defeat Blackheart, son of Mephisto Gets depowered by Doc Green, a super-intelligent version of the Hulk Issues - Theme is “a small river flowing long enough becomes a canyon” (7:10) When tradition becomes a trap Overprotective of his daughter (13:44) Oh yeah, the Hulk stuff (25:15) Break (29:06) Plugs for Play Comics & Geek Peak Treatment (30:19) In-universe - Out of universe - (32:37) Skit (39:51) Hello General Ross, I'm Dr. Issues. - Doctor, with all due respect, let's set the record straight. I didn't come here for treatment. I came here for a clean bill of health. I've been involved in enough government missions, secret protocols, and super-powered expeditions that I should be the last one to hide from any flaws. I'm not perfect, but I don't have to be. And that was before I learned about getting red in the face. Well, that is a hot start, General -I don't do jokes, if you don't mind. There are serious matters at hand. But you…I'll keep that in mind. Sheesh. There are always serious matters at hand. That's how the world works. That doesn't mean they all have to involve you. -Agreed. I pick my spots. But those are enormous spots. I know my enemy better than they know themselves. That's what's lacking in battles nowadays. The foe has no concept of planning. So many people think being random makes you dangerous. It just makes you a fool. Well, not to sound condescending, but I doubt all of your plans go the way you want them to. -A plan is useless. PLANNING is indispensable. Do you know who said that? Dwight Eisenhower. So you enjoy the process necessary to reach goals, and not just the goal itself. -If I didn't then I would have stopped existing a long time ago. I think people get that wrong about me. They think I'm some madman that wants to destroy the Hulk at all costs. And that was wrong…how? -I was never a madman. I'm calculating the whole way through. The heat thing says otherwise -Emotion in battle, Doctor. It's something you can't wrap your head around. Oh yeah, I get the rage, but in the fog of war, that can be the guide to see you through. No hippie woo woo love fest is going to save you when bullets are zipping and bombs are dropping. The only time you bring in God is to say “Thank God it's over” and you've won. You present more demure than expected. -You sound like one of those Gen Z types when you say that. You're a grown man. Act like it. So no social media memes; understood sir. But are you really past everything that's listed in your file? Banner? Betty? Intelligencia? Avengers? It says here your own likeness was killed! None of that sounds traumatic to you? -Of course it does. So what? We all have trauma. I used to let it eat at me, just shove it down my own throat, and let it all come out when the time is right. But with what I have now, there's no secrets. It's on my skin, in my veins, and radiating through the air. I finally found a way to have nothing to hide. My choices, my fights, my consequences. Anything to add to that? You're hitting the same note. What brings you enjoyment? How about sadness? Do you have any fears left? -You're breaking the cardinal rule; you're supposed to ask one question at a time. I'm sad that too many people think too small for their entire lives. I find joy in being one of the few living creatures to destroy multiple so-called badasses because I can adjust tactically and not be held down by magical thinking. I fear that anything less than a perfect rating in this assessment will leave me with a permanent mark that will have me use your office as a rage room. *pause* Didn't you shoot someone at your daughter's wed -*interrupting* RAGE. ROOM. You don't have to be so pushy about it. -So, are you slapping the PTSD label on like everyone else? No, I'll think outside the box and go I-G-E-D. -What the hell is that? Intermittent Gamma Explosive Disorder -*Groans* Doc Samson was right about you. Ending (43:41) Recommended reading: World War Hulks Next episodes: DerpyCon panel, Colleagues on the Couch w/ Dr. Ashley Zultanky, Shadowman Plugs for social & GonnaGeek Network References: Incredible Hulk episode with Popcorn Psychology - Anthony (2:00) “Calm Down” by Busta Rhymes & Eminem - Anthony (30:38) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook TikTok Patreon TeePublic Discord
Harry Stewart grew up with a love of flying and dreamed of becoming an airline pilot one day. But shortly after graduating high school, with the nation at war, Stewart found himself in in the U.S. Army Air Corps.The military needed skilled pilots but would not let black and white personnel train or serve together. Stewart was sent to Tuskegee, Alabama, where he and other black pilots and crew members prepared to serve as fighter pilot escorts for American bombers over Europe.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Col. Stewart describes the training, his first experience in air combat, and the day he was credited with shooting down three German planes. He also shares the painful story of his wingman who was shot down over Europe.Stewart also takes us into the historic performance of his team at the Air Force's Top Gun-style competition in 1949, the racism he faced in returning to civilian life, and the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen in transforming American society.Col. Stewart died on February 2, 2025, at the age of 100. This interview was conducted at the 2018 American Veterans Center conference.
Since its formation in 1957 the Army Air Corps has played a prominent role in almost every British Army operation. We get to talk to the authors of ‘Ops Normal Volume 1, The Authorised Operational History of the Army Air Corps, 1957-2017' and they take us through the evolution of the Corps, how it was founded and its theatres of operations during this time. Mike Peters is a former Army Air Corps soldier and officer, serving both as Groundcrew and as an Air Door Gunner. During his 34 years in the Corps, he served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, both Gulf Wars, and Afghanistan. John Greenacre is a former Army Air Corps officer and Gazelle pilot with over 23 years of service. He took part in operations in the Gulf, Balkans and Northern Ireland and served in Germany, Canada, the Falkland Islands and Kenya. You can get a copy of Ops Normal directly from the Xtended Bookshop here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11161/9781804515341 Recorded 3rd January 2025 For full show notes please visit: https://aviation-xtended.co.uk/
If you can see “a World in a Grain of Sand/And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,” what can you see in the trashcan at the curb? Apparently quite a bit, if you look closely. Today's poem, a paean to the unsung heroes of the holidays, can help with that.Also in today's episode: a look at what's new for The Daily Poem in 2025. Happy reading!Philip Appleman (1926-2020) served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and in the Merchant Marine after the war. He has degrees from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Lyon, France.His acclaimed books of poetry include Karma, Dharma, Pudding & Pie (W. W. Norton, 2009), New and Selected Poems, 1956-1996 (1996); Let There Be Light (1991); Darwin's Bestiary (1986); Open Doorways (1976); and Summer Love and Surf (1968). He is also the author of three novels, including Apes and Angels (Putnam, 1989); and six volumes of nonfiction, including the Norton Critical Edition, Darwin (1970).Appleman has taught at Columbia University, SUNY Purchase, and is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has also served on the Governing Board of the Poetry Society of America and the Poets Advisory Board of Poets House. His many awards include a Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Pushcart Prize, and both the Castagnola Award and the Morley Award from the Poetry Society of America.-bio via Academy of American Poets Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Send us a textEpisode 165Louis Zamperini's life was a remarkable journey from Olympic fame to wartime survival and beyond. Born in 1917 to Italian immigrants in California, he was a rebellious kid who discovered his talent for running, becoming a track star and earning a spot on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team. In Berlin, his stunning final lap in the 5,000 meters even caught the attention of Adolf Hitler, who requested to meet the young athlete. But just as Zamperini's athletic career was taking off, World War II interrupted his plans.He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as a bombardier in the Pacific. In 1943, during a search mission, his plane crashed into the ocean, leaving him and two other survivors adrift on life rafts for 47 harrowing days. They battled starvation, sharks, and relentless sun, drifting over 2,000 miles before being captured by the Japanese Navy. As a POW, Zamperini endured years of brutal treatment in various camps, where he was beaten, starved, and targeted by a sadistic guard known as "The Bird."The end of the war finally brought his liberation, but the nightmares didn't end. Struggling with PTSD and alcoholism, Zamperini's life spiraled until a spiritual awakening helped him find a path to healing. He forgave his former captors and spent his later years inspiring others with his message of resilience and forgiveness. His story, told in Unbroken, is not just about surviving the unimaginable, but also about finding redemption and peace after.Thank you for all the support and keep on downloading,folks.Pass this on and let's build this.Darren.Support the showInsta@justpassingthroughpodcastContact:justpassingthroughpodcast@gmail.comArtwork @digitalnomadicart on Insta
Vincent "Bill" Purple joined the U.S. Army Air Corps following the Japense attack on Pearl Harbor. Like most young men interested in joining the Air Corps, he wanted to be a fighter pilot. But the Army had different plans. Soon Purple was training on multi-engine planes in preparation for being a B-17 Bomber pilot. He was deployed to England as part of the 379th bomb group inside the Mighty Eighth Air Force and flew 35 missions.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Purple takes us along on a typical mission - from briefing to takeoff to dropping the bombs on Nazi targets in France and Germany. He also explains what it was like flying through intense enemy anti-aircraft fire, also known as flak.Mr. Purple also gives us great detail on several of his most harrowing missions, including the time his engine caught fire and he thought he would be "blown out of the sky" to taking off in heavy fog with no visibility, to being struck in the chest with shrapnel as he flew.
To access the entirety of THE KILLER DRILLER case study and various supplementary materials including newspaper clippings & the index, sub to the PPM Patreon: patreon.com/ParaPowerMapping The PPM Moment of Truth challenge continues. I've set a goal of reaching 120 new subs over the months of July & August. Pls consider supporting the show for as little as $3.30 a month—help keep PPM's lights on. My ability to sustain the show & invest the steep amount of labor I have been over this past year & a half is increasingly under threat by real life, material concerns... So it's essential the show cont's to grow. Thanks for taking a moment to subscribe to the Patreon or else plug the pod online or to a friend. Or even both. Immensely grateful for your support. Here begins our foray into the sordid, illustrative tale of sus dentist & serial contract killer Glennon Engleman, the Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde of sleepy, military & aerospace manufacturing hub St. Louis in the '50s / '60s / '70s / '80s. We examine his Army Air Corps background, the surprising PTK contours of his case, his Black Widow grooming, his mob enforcer aspirations, and the possible implications of various threads connecting him to organized crime & sexual trafficking in the St. Louis area... Lots of novel research in these two installments, strap in. Clips & Tracks: | FBI Files - "Serial Killer Dentist" | | MACABRE - "The Iceman" |
Dick Nelms was fascinated by flight at an early age. Born just five years after the end of World War I, he still vividly remembers what an event it was to see a plane in the sky when he was a child. Not long after the U.S. entered World War II, Nelms volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He would eventually pilot or co-pilot 35 missions aboard a B-17 bomber.In this edition of " Veterans Chronicles," Nelms reveals why the Army pulled the plug on him becoming a fighter pilot and assigned him to a bomber crew. He also walks us through a typical mission from briefing to pre-flight checks to take off and formation to the dropping of the bombs over German targets.Now 101 years old, Nelms takes us inside two of his most harrowing missions and also details his mental approach to confronting fear and carrying out the missions. He also shares how he and other bomber pilots saved thousands of American troops in Normandy. Finally, Nelms shares how his love of art led to a unique opportunity years after the war and how his artistic legacy lives on today.
Send us a Text Message.In this episode we celebrate the Archer's...a family of aviators. 89-year-old Pan Am Captain Stu Archer joined the airline in 1965 as an engineer after serving in the U.S. Air Force. Stu began flying the 727 and then was promoted to captain on the 747 and later Airbus A300 and A310. He stayed with Pan Am until 1991 and then went on to work for Delta Air Lines as a captain. When he reached the then mandatory retirement age of 60 after three years as a Delta captain, he successful took the company to court forcing the airline to keep him as an engineer and worked for another seven years before retiring in 2000. Many credit his lawsuit as one of the reasons the mandatory age was raised to 65. Stu credits his uncle, Lawerence Archer, as his aviation inspiration. Born in 1903, Lawerence was one of the early pilots trained by the Wright Brothers and was the first person to deliver mail by air in New England. Uncle Lawerence took Stu on his very first flight in a single engine, open air cockpit bi-wing plane when he was six years old and this forever changed the trajectory of his life. Lawerence Archer gave his life in service to his country in 1945 during World War II serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Stu's daughter Deborah Archer joined Pan Am as a flight attendant in 1979 and worked for the airline until the end in 1991. Afterward, she hung up her wing and became a nurse. She sadly passed away in 2009. Stu's son, Captain Jeffery Archer followed in his father's footsteps and became a pilot for American Airlines in 1991 and became captain in 1995. And now his grandson, Stephen Archer, Jeffery's son, carries on the family legacy started by his great-uncle and was recently been promoted to Captain with Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines. All three of these captains will be joining us to talk about their passion for flying and careers in aviation.A special thank you to American Airlines for allowing Jeff and Stephen to participate in this interview. If you are thinking about starting a career in aviation and want to be a pilot for American Airlines, visit the AA Cadet Academy. The Pan Am Museum also encourages you to visit the American Airlines CR Smith Museum in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This museum is named after aviation pioneer and former President of American Airlines, Cyrus Rowlett Smith and has been open since 1993. Support the Show. Visit Us for more Pan Am History! Support the Podcast! Donate to the Museum! Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear! Become a Member! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!
Lt. Col, George Hardy (99 years old) is a remarkable individual and an American hero. His story, of joining the Army Air Corps in 1943 at the age of 17, eager to join the war in defense of our country, is one shared by many young warriors of the time. But what sets Col. Hardy's story apart is that, as a young African American man during the 1940s, his path to service and in particular to becoming a fighter pilot made him part of the historic group of young men known as the Tuskegee Airman. Col. Hardy flew 21 combat missions over Germany in 1945, escorting bombers to their targets. Following the war, he returned to Tuskegee to pay it forward and train new pilots. In 1948, he rejoined another war effort, flying B-29 bombers in 45 combat missions in the Korean War and continued to serve our country through the Vietman War, flying 70 missions at the controls of a C-119 gunship, protecting troops on the ground. Decorations: Dist. Flying Cross with Valor, Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters and commendation medal with 1 oak leaf cluster. Although Col. Hardy did not feel well enough to join us at show time, his dear friend and colleague, Dr. Joi Spraggins, graciously volunteered to join us this evening for a discussion honoring Col. Hardy, and shedding light on this amazing man. “SocialFlight Live!” is a live broadcast dedicated to supporting General Aviation pilots and enthusiasts during these challenging times. Register at SocialFlightLive.com to join the live broadcast every Tuesday evening at 8pm ET (be sure to join early because attendance is limited for the live broadcasts). BROUGHT TO YOU Avidyne and the AMAZING IFD550/540/440 series of Navigators and the new Avidyne Vantage system that is literally going to revolutionize the panels of Cirrus aircraft. Avidyne www.avidyne.com Aspen Avionics www.aspenavionics.com Continental Aerospace Technologies www.continental.aero EarthX Batteries www.earthxbatteries.com Lightspeed Aviation www.lightspeedaviation.com McFarlane Aviation www.mcfarlane-aviation.com Tempest Aero www.tempestaero.com Titan Aircraft www.titanaircraft.com Trio Avionics www.trioavionics.com uAvionix www.uavionix.com Wipaire www.wipaire.com
James Baynham had never flown a plane before entering the service in 1942. In fact, he didn't even have an interest in aviation. What he did know is that he did not want to be in the infantry, so he volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. Soon he was off to training, eventually being assigned as a B-24 pilot with the Mighty Eighth Air Force based in England. By mid-1944 he was flying missions, but his war service came to an abrupt end over the skies of Germany in late September.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Baynham tells us what it took to make it through flight school, the planning and execution that went into each mission, and why his fourth mission was even more harrowing than his last one.Baynham also walks us step-by-step through his eleventh and final mission, during which his bomber was shot down by German fighters. He describes jumping out of a burning plane, being captured as he hit the ground, and what it was like to be interrogated by the Germans. He also tells us about the conditions at Stalag Luft 1 and what daily life was like there. Finally, Baynham shares his memories of the prison being liberated by the Russians in April 1945, how he and a buddy did not want to wait around under Russian control and their grand adventure to get across Europe and eventually make it home.
Join America's Roundtable (https://americasrt.com/) radio co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy with Ronald Maxwell, one America's most noted independent film writers and directors. Ron Maxwell's most known and revered productions mirror his life-long interest in American history. He was the writer and director of epic war drama films: "Gettysburg," starring Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, and Sam Elliott (New Line Cinema, 1993); “Gods and Generals,” starring Robert Duvall, Steven Lang, and Jeff Daniels (Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2003); and "Copperhead," starring Peter Fonda, Billy Campbell, Lucy Boynton, Geneviève Steele, Angus Macfadyen, and François Arnaud (2013). He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Ronald Maxwell is the son of a World War II veteran. Ron's father John F. Maxwell served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Germany. On June 6, 1944 his unit had arrived in the newly liberated Rome. americasrt.com (https://americasrt.com/) https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 Twitter: @ileaderssummit @AmericasRT @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable (https://americasrt.com/) radio program - a strategic initiative of International Leaders Summit, focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 65 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm
Today we recognized Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day and celebrated the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps through a discussion of their history and legacy with the head of African American Studies at the University of Illinois and a current service member.
In observance of Memorial Day ahead, Retired Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds of Clanton and Retired Alabama National Guard Colonel Bryan Morgan talk with Carolyn Hutcheson of In Focus about their pilgrimage to France and Belgium to search for the grave of Judge Reynolds' uncle, 2nd Lieutenant Henry G. Reynolds. His bomber was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Corps and was shot down Dec. 31st, 1943, over France and Belgium.
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 4:45 We will be off next week due to Memorial Day. I finished watching From on MGM+ and also watched Blown Away on Netflix. Chandra remembers the show Flea Market Flip with Ali Wentworth on HGTV. The documentary she remembers is called Craft in America and was on PBS. Royals: Minutes 4:45 to 25:30 Last week, as we were recording, the news had just come out that the Sussexes were going to be in Nigeria the next day. There were so many stories, pictures and videos of their visit, but it was mostly limited to Getty and social media. Their visit was announced late, and we think that was to keep British journalists from traveling to Nigeria to cover their tour. It was hard to source stories and photos, but we loved that they weren't being held up by protocol. They gave a lot of personal time to the causes and people they visited. Meghan was declared a princess of Nigeria by four kings. That was such a moving gesture and you could tell Meghan was touched. Nigeria pulled out all the stops for the Sussexes. People love the Sussexes because they are so genuine. During their tour they were getting invitations from other countries to visit. I play a segment of Meghan's speech at the Women in Leadership panel in Nigeria. There was a lot of racism and toxicity in the British press around that visit. Nigerian Twitter united to call it out. It seemed like Buckingham Palace gave the press the go ahead to attack the Sussexes. We've also heard that Charles is trying to block Harry and Meghan from visiting more commonwealth countries, similar to how Charles tried to block the Bidens from being hospitable toward them. We mentioned in our last episode that Charles had scheduled a handover event to give William the title of colonel in chief of the Army Air Corps, which was Prince Harry's regiment when he served two tours in Afghanistan. That little event happened, William cosplayed as Harry, dressed like him and took a ride in an Apache helicopter. The optics were terrible, because William wants to be Harry and falls short in every way. The Sussexes are covering this week's People and it's such a contrast to last week's weird cover story that centered how William was coping with his wife's illness. There are direct quotes from Harry and Meghan saying how well they're doing and that they're going to plan more visits. I play a clip from Zoom with Karen, Zakia and Ameerah, where we talked about the Nigerian tour. Like Karen mentioned on Zoom, the Sussexes got a lot of gifts. Of course there are calls for them to give them back. The British press is trying to make it sound like they got extravagant gifts. Chandra remembers when Camilla was gifted diamonds by the Saudis. Archewell was briefly “delinquent” with their registration in the state of California, but that was a simple mixup by the Attorney General's office which lost a check. The check was sent by certified mail and was delivered. Governor Newsom spoke out on their behalf. This week we also saw more of William's alleged one time mistress, Rose Hanbury. She was at the Badminton Horse Trials where she was photographed with Camilla. Rose and her husband, David Rocksavage, were also at an OBE service where their son was the page for Charles and Camilla. Comments of the Week: Minutes 25:30 to end Chandra's comment of the week is from Sunday on the post about Rose Hanbury's reemergence. My comments of the week are from Harla A Brazen Hussy and StellainNH on the post about King Charles' new portrait by Jonathan Yeo. Thanks for listening bitches!
This is the Royal Rota - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News' Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson.This week, Chris and Lizzie speak to Charlene White about Harry and Meghan's unofficial royal visit to Nigeria - after he said the King was too busy to meet last week.They also discuss the King's speech as he handed over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to Prince William - at the base where Harry trained - and the recent royal portrait that's caused quite the stir.
#KingCharlesReport: Colonelship of the Army Air Corp to the Prince of Wales. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/05/13/king-hand-over-military-role-william-first-joint-engagement/ January 1941 inspection of the Home Guard
PREVIEW: #KING CHARLES: PRINCE WILLIAM: Conversation with colleague Gregory Copley re: the passing of the baton of the Colonelship of the Army Air Corps from the King to Prince William. Also, happy news about the King returning to scrupulous duty. 1912 The Royal Family, King, Queen, Heir at the University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, making it one of the oldest higher education institutions in the UK. The university has a rich history and has undergone several name changes before being granted university status in 1992. Key points about the University of Westminster: 1. Campuses: The university has four main campuses across London: Cavendish, Marylebone, Regent, and Harrow. 2. Academic structure: The university is organized into three colleges and twelve schools, offering a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional courses. 3. Research: The University of Westminster is known for its research in various fields, including art and design, media and communication, politics, and life sciences. 4. Notable alumni: The university has produced many notable alumni, including musicians, actors, journalists, and politicians, such as Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Bailey, Asif Kapadia, and Noel Gallagher. 5. International students: The university has a diverse student body, with a significant number of international students from over 150 countries. 6. Facilities: The University of Westminster offers a range of facilities, including libraries, sports facilities, and student accommodation. 7. Rankings: The university is ranked in the top 1000 universities globally by the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The University of Westminster is known for its focus on practical and interdisciplinary education, preparing graduates for successful careers in various industries. The university's central London location also provides students with numerous opportunities for internships, networking, and cultural experiences.
In a rare joint official engagement, King Charles has handed over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to Prince William. The transfer of the colonelcy took place in front of an Apache attack helicopter at Middle Wallop airfield in Hampshire.King Charles, who became the inaugural holder of the title 32 years ago, expressed his "great sadness" in passing on the role. He said, "Let me just say what a great joy it is to be with you even briefly on this occasion. But also it is tinged with great sadness after 32 years of knowing you all, admiring your many activities and achievements through the time that I've been lucky enough to be Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps.In an exchange with an attendee, Charles was asked about his chemotherapy and shared, “It was “terrible losing your sense of taste,” Meanwhile, in Nigeria: Meghan co-hosted a Women in Leadership panel event, where she admitted to changing her style in a bid to "fit in" with the local fashion. She looked stunning in a red maxi dress, ethically created by Nigerian designer Orire and priced at less than £230. Meghan revealed that her decision to wear the bold dress was a last-minute choice, explaining, "It has been a whirlwind 24 hours since we arrived, and I very quickly got the memo that I need to wear more colour so I can fit in with all of you in your incredible fashion."Although Meghan arrived an hour late to the event, her passionate speech seemed to make up for any ill feelings. She expressed her gratitude, saying, "I want to start by saying thank you very much for just how gracious you've all been in welcoming my husband and I to this country… my country. I am just flattered and honoured and inspired. It has been a whirlwind 24 hours since we arrived."While Meghan was co-hosting the event, Prince Harry reportedly left her in Abuja to visit a hospital in Kaduna, a region deemed "unsafe" by the UK government. The UK foreign office advises against all travel to Kaduna State due to frequent banditry, violent attacks, and a high threat of kidnap. Despite the risks, Harry, accompanied by a four-strong security detail, visited the hospital to meet with Nigerian soldiers who had suffered injuries fighting against the terrorist group Boko Haram.
King Charles has handed down one of his titles after more than thirty years. He handed down the title of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to William, saying that he was “tinged with sadness” after so many years of holding the title. His younger son, who served in the Air Corps twice in Afghanistan, spending three and a half years of his life in service, was passed over. UK Correspondent Edna Brady told Mike Hosking that if Harry ever needed confirmation that he's on his own now, it's come both today and last week, when none of the Windsor family showed to support his charity event. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 8:00 I saw an alligator with her babies when I was in Florida. Chandra's cat captured a chipmunk who looked dead but then escaped. I watched Fallout on Amazon Prime, Files of the Unexplained on Netflix and a mystery horror show on MGM+ called From. Chandra watched The Idea of You and Dune 2. Royals: Minutes 8:00 to 26:00 We still haven't seen Kate. William was asked about Kate and their kids earlier this month and he said “we're all doing well.” A fashion designer who dresses the children said in an interview “I think they are going through hell, I hope they will be back.” When The Times reported on Prince Charles' visit to a cancer center on April 30th they included the detail that Kate “is expected to be away from public duties for some time.” There's no timeline for when she might return. William is on the cover of this week's People Magazine. He's the focus and center of the story, with very little details about how Kate and the kids are doing. There's a narrative that any questions about Kate's condition are “bullying” and mean to her, when it's more about the messaging around her illness. Anyone who points out the fake photos and videos the palace has been putting out are somehow hurting Kate according to their narrative. We wonder when the international press will start to call them out. Harry went to the 10th year anniversary service for Invictus at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Wednesday and got a rock star reception. Harry's relatives on his mother's Spencer side were out in full force, but none of the Windsors came. They held a garden party at the same time because they're just that petty. We heard that Harry requested ahead of time to see his father but was told Charles was too busy. Harry's spokesperson issued a simple statement about that. Richard Kay reported that “there had been no formal request from either the King or his son to schedule a meeting.” Royal commentator Charlotte Griffiths suggested the meeting fell through because Harry didn't want Camilla in the room when he met Charles. Kay also reported that Harry didn't request housing. Camilla has been leaking like crazy. They also announced a military honors event in which Charles will officially hand off Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to William. They made the announcement about William getting that title last year, but this is a made up handover event to try to pull focus from Harry. The Army Air Corps is Harry's regiment with which he served two tours in Afghanistan. The Sussexes have been invited by the Nigerian government to visit. As we were recording, the news had just come out that they would arrive the next day, Friday. The British envoy in Nigeria has admitted he had no idea about the visit and is not involved in scheduling. Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef: Minutes 26:00 to 37:00 Drake had been trying to bait Kendrick for months before he finally responded with some of the most epic songs in rap battle history. We talk about the BBL Drizzy phenomenon, starting with the King Willonius song and evolving into Metro Boomin's BBL Drizzy challenge. After Drake's cheap shot at Kendrick, Family Matters, Kendrick dropped Meet The Grahams and then Not Like Us, which is breaking records. After that Drake released The Heart Part 6 in which he tells on himself and reveals that he doesn't understand Kendrick's lyrics. There was a shooting at Drake's house recently and one of his bodyguards was injured. Drake has feuds with so many people in his industry. Meghan Thee Stallion's HISS is likely about Drake. Comments of the Week: Minutes 37:00 to end Chandra's comment of the week is from PaddingtonJr on the post about Harry at the Invictus anniversary service. My comments of the week are from MrsFonzieFace, K and Eowyn on the post about Robert F Kennedy Jr. having a dead worm in his brain. Thanks for listening bitches!
So many layers today...Hours before he was due to appear at the 10th anniversary service of thanksgiving at St Paul's, Harry was spotted leaving an event. Harry waved and said "hello" to onlookers. Holding a black folder under his arm, Harry was asked if he was "happy to be home", to which he simply chuckled and dodged the question by saying: "Nice to see you."We'll take that as no.Royal expert Charlotte Griffiths She claimed Harry made "certain demands" about who could be in the room for a meeting with the King, and who couldn't. One wonders if the couldn't includes Camilla, the wicked stepmother.Royal expert Rupert Bell suggested to TalkTV "Maybe the King just feels like he's not ready, emotionally, as well as anything else, to have even 30 minutes with his son."Thirty minutes isn't really enough time to get beyond the small talk stage. What they really needs is some honest-to-goodness father and son time."On Wednesday, Prince Harry made a poignant entrance into St. Paul's Cathedral, adorned with four medals proudly displayed on his blazer, accompanied by another around his neck. His attire spoke volumes about his dedicated service and commitment to various causes.The medals adorning his blazer included the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal, each symbolizing different milestones and achievements in his service to the nation.Around his neck, he wore a star, a distinguished emblem signifying his status as the Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO), further highlighting his esteemed position within the royal hierarchy.However, amidst the solemnity of the occasion, Prince Harry appeared to stand alone, without any other members of the royal family by his side. While he attended the Invictus Games service at St. Paul's Cathedral, his absence was notable at Buckingham Palace, where the King hosted the inaugural annual garden party, joined by other senior royals.As he entered St. Paul's Cathedral, Prince Harry greeted the crowd with a warm smile and a wave, embodying the spirit of camaraderie and resilience that defines the Invictus Games. His presence at the event, where he was slated to deliver a reading alongside actor Damian Lewis, served as a poignant reminder of his ongoing commitment to serving those who have sacrificed for their country.Harry received a warm welcome from the Dean, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, as he was escorted to his seat beneath the cathedral's majestic dome.Taking his place beside his mentor, Mark Dyer, Prince Harry engaged in a brief exchange with his uncle, Earl Spencer.Acknowledging the stark realities of conflict and its aftermath, the Dean lamented, "We lament the pain, cost, and indignity of war and terror, and pray for a world where justice shall reign and where the nations will find their longed-for unity.""We recall, with admiration, the skill and determination of those who seek to repair, rehabilitate, and reclaim the lives of those living with serious illness or injury: changing and saving lives."..Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News "Mike Tindall, who is the husband of Zara, the King's niece, has been given a high position to do something about the Invictus Games."I think Harry is absolutely furious about this. It has been announced, but very quietly." The Royal Family presented a united front in support of King Charles at the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the summer season. His Majesty was joined by Queen Camilla, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for the event.Charles, dressed in a distinguished grey suit paired with a light blue waistcoat, greeted the gathered crowds with a smile as he entered the garden alongside the Queen.Buckingham Palace announced Prince William and his father would be sharing a joint engagement in the upcoming week. William will be bestowed with the distinguished title of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps.Prior to Prince Harry's decision to step back from royal responsibilities four years ago, it was widely speculated that he would assume this prestigious role, considering his deep connection with the regiment he had bravely served alongside during his time in Afghanistan until 2014.The timing of the announcement, however, raised eyebrows among royal observers. "Timing is everything," remarked one insider. Another insider noted that the King's choice to pass on this cherished role to his eldest son, coupled with the apparent lack of a meeting with Prince Harry, is likely to be interpreted as a deliberate messageRoyal Insider Deep Crown tells us, “"The timing of Prince William's appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps is no accident." And as for the King being busy, Deep Crown quipped, remarks Deep Crown, a seasoned royal insider. "Even I could secure 15 minutes with the King this week, if His Majesty had wanted to make time for me."
Paul "Bud" Haedike was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. Before long, he was assigned as a bombardier on a B-17 bomber crew. From the final months of 1944 until the end of the war in Europe, Haedike took part in 23 bombing missions, and none of those missions came with a guarantee he would return to base safely. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Sgt. Haedike recounts his first mission, which resulted in a crash landing in Belgium. He also remembers emergency landings on two other missions, what it was like to suffer through anti-aircraft fire on most missions, and how his orders shifted from precision bombing to pattern bombing. He shares the powerful story of bringing critical food supplies to the Netherlands after despicable German cruelty at the end of the war.This was our second interview with Sgt. Haedike, recorded when he was "ninety-eight and a half" at the American Veterans Center conference in November 2023. Bud passed away in March 2024, not long before his 99th birthday. We're grateful to have known this wonderful man and for his service to our nation.
Roger "Buck" Winters was a recent high school graduate working at a tool factory in Texas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He immediately wanted to quit his job and join the U.S. Army Air Corps. The government would not let him do either of those things at first. Winters would join the Army in 1943 and get trained as an engineer. He would be deployed to Guadalcanal and then to Cebu in the Philippines, where he would have a front row seat to history.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," 100-year-old Buck Winters tells us about his ordnance training and his work of destroying and building as an engineer in the Pacific theater of World War II. He will share what it was like to come under attack by the Japanese on Guadalcanal. He also explains what it took to find and eliminate the holdout Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender.From there, it's on to Cebu, his shock at hearing natives speaking excellent English, and the hard work of rebuilding Cebu City. But the most vivid memory for Buck Winters is serving on the honor guard that welcomed Gen. Douglas MacArthur on his return to Cebu.
Summary Mark Stout (X; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his new book, World War I and the Foundations of American Intelligence. Mark Stout is a former intelligence analyst and former SPY Historian. What You'll Learn Intelligence The first American intelligence “agencies” Codebreaking during WWI The American Protective League and spy paranoia WWI's effect on American culture and politics Reflections Challenging common historical thought Studying the “forgotten” wars And much, much more … Quotes of the Week “[After World War I] there will never be a time again when the United States won't have squadrons in the Army Air Corps, later the U. S. Air Force, and similarly the Navy. We would never again be without aerial reconnaissance squadrons. There would never again be a time when the United States didn't have at least one code-breaking organization.” – Mark Stout. Resources SURFACE SKIM *Spotlight Resource* World War I and the Foundations of American Intelligence, Mark Stout (University Press of Kansas, 2023) *SpyCasts* Rise of Devils: The Origins of Modern Terrorism with James Crossland (2024) Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East vs. West with Calder Walton (2023) The Lion and the Fox – Civil War Spy vs. Spy with Alexander Rose (2023) The Birth of American Propaganda – A Conversation on Manipulating the Masses with John Hamilton (2021) *Beginner Resources* World War I, Explained in 5 Minutes! YouTube (2023) [5 min. video] The Journey of the Intelligence Community, M. Thomas, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (2023) [Timeline of the US IC] The United States in the First World War, National Park Service (2021) [Short article] DEEPER DIVE Books Manipulating the Masses: Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of American Propaganda, J. M. Hamilton (LSU Press, 2020) Codes, Ciphers and Spies: Tales of Military Intelligence in World War I, J. F. Dooley (Copernicus, 2016) The Zimmermann Telegram: Intelligence, Diplomacy, and America's Entry into World War I, T. Boghardt (Naval Institute Press, 2012) Primary Sources Treaty of Versailles (1919) Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points Speech (1918) Telegram Announcing Armistice (1918) Sedition Act (1918) The Zimmermann Telegram (1917) Espionage Act (1917) Woodrow Wilson Third Annual Message, Warns of Espionage (1915) *Wildcard Resource* 12 Step Method to Reveal Secret Writing (ca. 1913-1924) Germany was particularly fond of invisible ink as a tactic of spycraft during World War I. If you came across a document suspected of secret writing, you might use these 12 steps to reveal the hidden message … Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What happens if you transform HOW you think? In this episode, Bill Bellows and host Andrew Stotz discuss the problem of thinking in one dimension at a time (as we were taught in school) and its impact on our ability to solve problems. BONUS: Book recommendations to broaden your understanding of Deming and more. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.1 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host as we continue our journey into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, I'm continuing my discussion with Bill Bellows, who has spent 30 years helping people apply Dr. Deming's ideas to become aware of how their thinking is holding them back from their biggest opportunities. The topic for today is, well, episode 19, Transforming How we Think. Bill, take it away. 0:00:29.9 Bill Bellows: And good evening, Andrew. 0:00:35.8 AS: Good evening. 0:00:36.2 BB: And, but just as a point of clarity, I view it as transforming how we think about our thinking. And that's what I've been focusing on for the, since the mid, the early '90s is not how we think, but what is our awareness of our thinking, and I think that ties in well with SoPK. So first in late breaking news, I am seeing with new eyes, Andrew. Literally, I've got new monofocal lenses in both eyes. The left eye three weeks ago, the right eye, a week ago. I was told about five years ago, eventually I'll have to have cataract surgery. And I spoke with a few friends who had it done, and they said, oh, it's easy. And what was so amazing was it was easier than they said. It was. 0:01:41.0 BB: But one neighbor who's had it done, and kind of a sad note is he claims, and I've not double checked this, he's a sharp guy. He claims 80% of the world's population would benefit from cataract surgery that they don't have access to and eventually go blind. And I don't know, I can believe, and he is in fact he's quoted me twice on that. But I am literally seeing with new eyes. The grays are now, shades of gray, are now shades of blue. When I look at the sky. My depth perception's a whole lot better. And so it ties in well with all this vision therapy stuff. So. 0:02:36.8 AS: Aren't you glad that those machines are high quality and the operations that they do are high quality? 0:02:41.6 BB: Oh, yeah. 0:02:42.4 AS: Just one little mistake on that one. And, that's... 0:02:46.2 BB: Well, and I'm signing the documents and there's a little bit of a flutter when I'm signing, in terms of the liability. And one friend's mom had a bad cataract procedure, so it doesn't always go. And I shared this with Kevin. Kevin's had the same, as likewise had the procedure done. And we shared the anxieties and then it worked out well. But yeah when I signed that form that there was in the event, and I thought, whoa, that'd be, anyway, it worked. All right, so where I want to pick up in episode 19 is where we left off with episode 18. And there near the end, I referenced from Dr. Deming. He says Dr. Deming says in chapter three of The New Economics, and he says, "we saw in the last chapter that we're living under the tyranny of the prevailing style of management. Most people imagine this style has always existed. It is a fixture. Actually," he said, "it's a modern invention, a trap that has led us into decline. Transformation..." 0:04:03.0 BB: You remember that word from last time? Okay. "Transformation is required. Education and government, along with industry are also in need of transformation. The System of Profound Knowledge will be introduced in the next chapter. To be introduced in the next chapter is a theory for transformation." So I've got some bullet points and I want to get into the additional chapters and references from The New Economics on Dr. Deming's use of the term transformation. 'Cause I think what he's talking about... SoPK is a theory for transformation. So I think it's just not enough to talk about SoPK without understanding how does that fit in with what Dr. Deming's talking about? 0:04:49.0 AS: And for the listeners who come out of the blue here, SoPK stands for the System of Profound Knowledge. 0:04:56.1 BB: Yes. And system then gets into elements and the four elements that Dr. Deming proposed in The New Economics, going back to the late '80s when he started to put these thoughts together. We need to think about the elements of Profound Knowledge are looking at things as a system and understanding of variation and appreciation of psychology. That's the people aspect. And then theory of knowledge, which gets into what he would explain as how do we know that what we know is so. So the one thing I wanted to bring up on the System of Profound Knowledge is conversations with Dick Steele. And a neat way of looking at the System of Profound Knowledge is to say, well, what if we were to look at some data points, one element, we look at variation, and we see some data the output of a process. 0:06:00.0 BB: We see it go up and down. Well, if that's the only element we have, then we can't ask what caused that, 'cause that's the upstream system. Well, that's the system piece. We cannot talk about what does this variation do downstream? That's the system piece. We cannot talk about how might we change that. That might get into the theory of knowledge or would get into the aspect of the theory of knowledge and some theories as to how we can go about changing the average, changing the amount of variation. And then what that leads us immediately to is, where do those ideas come from but people. 0:06:44.7 BB: So it's kind of, I think it's interesting. So Dr. Deming says the elements, but it's as connected to each other. So what I explain to the students in my courses is, in the beginning, and I remember when I'm looking at this, I'm looking at the elements. I'm thinking, okay, that variation, that's the Control Chart stuff. Common causes, special causes, well, it also includes variation in people. Oh, now we're talking about the people stuff. And then, so I find it interesting is it is easy to look at them as separate, but then in time they meld together really well. So it's not to say that we shouldn't start out looking at things as the elements 'cause I think that's what our education system does. In fact, there's a great documentary I watched a few years ago with Gregory Bateson, who was born in 1900 or so, passed away in the 1980s. 0:07:52.6 BB: And when I ask people have you ever heard of Gregory Bateson? They say, no. I say, well, have you heard of Margaret Mead? Yeah. Well, they were married once upon a time. That was her, he was her first husband. And so Bateson gives a lecture in this documentary that his daughter produced. And he says, and he is at a podium. You don't see the audience. You just see he's at a lectern. And he says, you may think that there's such a thing as psychology, which is separate from anthropology, which is separate from English, which is separate from... And he goes on to imply that they really aren't separate. But then he says, "Well, think what you want." 0:08:38.1 AS: Think what you want. 0:08:39.7 AS: And I thought that's what the education system does. It has us believe that these things are all separate. And so that's what's kind of neat. Yeah. And, but again, I think when you go to school, you're learning about history, then you learn about math. But one thing I noticed later on, many years later was the history people never talked about, if they talked about the philosopher who was well known in mathematics, we didn't hear that mathematics piece, nor in the math class did we hear about this person as a historical figure. We just learned about... And so the education system kind of blocks all that out. And then years later when we're outta school, we can read and see how all this stuff comes together and it does come together. So the one big thing I wanna say is that, is I think it's neat to look at something with just one of those elements and then say, how far does it go before you need the others to really start to do something? 0:09:47.0 BB: And that gets into the interactions. And by interactions, I mean that when you're talking about variation and you're thinking about people are different, how they feel is different, how they respond is different. Now you're talking about the interaction between psychology, at least that's one explanation of the interaction between people amd psychology. I wanna share next an anecdote. I was at a UCLA presentation. A friend of mine turned me on to these maybe once a month kind of deal to be an invited speaker. 70 people in the room. And these were typically professors from other universities, authors, and there is one story I wanna share is a woman who had written a book on why really smart kids don't test well in secondary schools. And there were a good number of people there. 0:10:45.6 BB: And I'm listening to all this through my Deming lens, and she's talking about how kids do on the exams. That goes back to an earlier podcast. How did you do on the exam? And so I'm listening to all this and she's drawing conclusions that these students are really smart, but they freak out. And then how might they individually perform better? As if the greatest cause by them all by themselves. And so afterwards, I went up and stood in line and I had a question for her that I deliberately did not want to ask in front of the entire room. 'Cause I wanted her undivided attention, and I really wanted to see where she'd come with this. 'Cause perhaps it could lead to an ongoing discussion. So I went up and introduced myself and I think I said something like, are you familiar with W. Edwards Deming? And I believe she said she was. I think she was a psychologist by background. And then I moved into the... Essentially the essence of what if the grades are caused by the system and not the student taken separately, which she acknowledged. She's like, yeah, that makes sense. And I remember saying to her, "Well then how might that change your conclusions?" 0:12:11.2 BB: And so I throw that as an example of... Deming's saying you could be an expert in, you know, you just look at something. Actually, when that comes to mind is Deming is saying something like shouldn't a psychologist know something about variation? Well, shouldn't a psychologist know something about systems? And I didn't maintain a relationship with her, but it was just other things to do. Next I wanna share a story. And I wrote this up in an article. Then when this is posted... 0:12:49.0 BB: Typically these are posted on LinkedIn. Then I'll put a link into the article. And it's a classic story that Russ Ackoff was very fond of saying, and I heard the story told quite a few times before I started to think about it a little bit differently. So the story is he was working for General Electric back in the 1960s. He is in a very high level meeting. And in the room is this, the then CEO of GE, Reginald Jones and all of the senior VPs of General Electric are in the room. And Russ... I'm guessing he was doing, I know Russ did a lot of work with Anheuser-Busch, and he did a lot of work with GE. So Russ says he is in the room. There's maybe a dozen of these senior VPs of plastics of all the different GE divisions. 0:13:41.2 BB: And there's, Russ said there's one of them that was relatively new in a senior VP position, now over plastics or over lighting or whatever it was. And at one point he gets up. And one by one he raises a question with each of his peers. Something like, "Andrew, I noticed last year you installed a new software system." And you would say, "yeah, yep, yep." And I said, "I noticed you went with..." Let's say Apple, "you went with Apple Software", and you're like, "yeah," "that's what I thought. Yeah, you went with Apple." And then you might say something like, "why do you ask?" And he says, "well, the rest of us use Microsoft products. And it just seems kind of odd that you would go off and buy something different." 0:14:41.0 BB: And the point, and Russ didn't get into these details, the essence was every single one of them he'd figured out over the last year had made a decision, pretty high level decision that that senior VP felt was good for that division, but not good for General Electric. And Russ said what got his attention was, he wasn't sitting in that room hearing those conversations and he hears one decision then another, now he's got a whole list. So Russ says, he goes around the room and calls out every single one of his peers. So, and Russ shared this in one phone call, the Ongoing Discussions that I've mentioned. And people said, Russ, do you have that documented? And he is like, well, I don't think I have that any anymore. But somebody else asking. 0:15:35.3 BB: And then no sooner was the call over I had some friends call me up, said, "Bill, can you ask Russ if you have that, if he can get a copy of that? It's probably on his shelf. You're in his office". I said to one friend. I said, "so you'd be surprised that a member of Parliament does what's best for his district and not what's best for the United Kingdom. You think, you'd be surprised that a congressman from Los Angeles is gonna do what's best for Los Angeles, not what's best for the country. 0:16:07.2 BB: So you're telling me you're surprised by that?" Well, "no, no, no." I said, "well then why do you have to have the documentation?" So that's one aspect of it. So I heard that story again and again. And so finally it, I said, wait a minute, wait a minute. So I said, "Russ, on that story, you being in the room with GE?" He says, yeah. He says, I know you don't have the documentation, I said, "but what happened after this guy called them all out? How did that go down?" He says, "one of the peers looks at this guy and says, so what's your point?" 0:16:42.3 BB: And the meeting moved on. And I wrote that for an article for the Lean Management Journal called, "You Laugh, It Happens". And when I look at that through the lens of the System of Profound Knowledge, is that surprising that that goes on? No, not at all. I wanna reference a couple books that I don't think I've mentioned at all. And I share these because for the Deming enthusiasts, these books have some brilliant examples of in different arenas that I think you absolutely love and you can use in your classes, use in your education, whatever. All fairly recent. The first one is "The Tyranny of Metrics" written by a historian. He is an American University historian, Jerry Mueller, and he has, I mean, Dr. Deming would just love this. Oh, bingo! Bingo! Bingo! Thank you. 0:17:48.4 AS: Yep. There it is. "The Tyranny of Metrics". 0:17:50.1 BB: Right? 0:17:50.7 AS: Yep. 0:17:51.3 BB: Right. Is that a great one? 0:17:53.2 AS: That's a great book. And you can follow him on Twitter also. He does do a lot of posts there. 0:18:00.4 BB: Now I reached out to him 'cause I relished the book 'cause the stories were just, you just can't make up all those stories. I mean the story that I shared with Russ is nothing in comparison to what Muller has in the book. I just don't believe that Muller has a solution that can... I don't think, I think the only thing missing from the book is if he had an understanding of the System of Profound Knowledge, he'd have a far better proposal as to what to do. 0:18:31.8 AS: Yeah. I read that and I felt similar that there was something that was missing there. It was, it was great stories as you say, but how do we connect that? How do we apply that? And what's the root cause here? And how do we, this, there was just... That was missing from it. And maybe that should be his next book. 0:18:53.9 BB: Oh, enormously. But it's worth reading regardless. 0:18:57.3 AS: Yeah. Agreed. 0:19:00.1 BB: But I was, I was, I wasn't surprised. I'd say this. He honestly tried to offer a proposal, but I just looked at it and said, Professor Muller, you would just love it. In fact, I believe I reached out to him. I don't know that I heard from him. Alright, that's one book. 0:19:17.1 AS: That reminds me of what Dr. Deming said. "How would they know?" 0:19:21.3 BB: Exactly. Exactly. 0:19:22.4 AS: So if he hadn't been exposed to the System of Profound Knowledge... 0:19:25.3 BB: Oh, no. No, no, no. 0:19:25.7 AS: Then it would be hard to pull it all together. Yep. Okay. 0:19:28.8 BB: Yeah. So the next book, which is somewhere behind you in your bookshelf, is "The End of Average" by Todd... 0:19:36.8 AS: Actually, I don't think I have that one. 0:19:39.4 BB: By Todd Rose, who's a research fellow at Harvard. It's a riveting book. Oh, Andrew, you would absolutely love it. Just, he goes back ages. I mean, hundreds of hundreds of years and looks at how lost we became... How lost civilizations were dealing with trying to make, deal with averages. And the book opens with the most riveting story. And I started reading this and immediately I started thinking, "Okay, okay, okay, okay." And I figured it out. So in the opening paragraph, he says, In one day in 1949, there were 17 military planes crashed. In one day. 17 military planes crashed in one day. And this was... It would have been after the Air Force separated from the Army Air Corps. And so I started thinking, okay, late '40s, planes are going faster. The US industry has German technology, and... Because the Germans had jet engines in the late '40s. So I'm thinking it's about speed. It's about something about speed, something about speed. And there's more and more planes flying. 0:21:06.6 BB: So they grounded the fleet. They had a major investigation, brought in this young guy as a data researcher. And he passed away a few years ago, I did some research with him recently. And what he found was the cockpits were designed, you're writing, Andrew, for the average size pilots. Everything in the cockpit was fixed for the average arm length, the average hand length, the average finger length, the average height, the... Everything about... All these measurements on the torso, the cockpit had, everything was fixed. And that's exactly what I thought was going on. As the planes are going faster and faster, reaction times need to be faster and faster. And they're not. So his research was, they went off and measured thousands of pilots and found out that there was no pilot met the average. 0:22:11.2 AS: Oh, God. 0:22:11.3 BB: And the conclusion was... And again, until the plane started flying faster, that was not an issue. And that's what I was thinking with all my training in problem solving, decision making, what is going on there? What is going on there? And that's what changes the... I mean, the speed was accelerating, but compounded by the fixed geometry. So the solution by the government Pentagon, to the contractors was, add flexibility to the cockpit, allow the seat to move up and down, and then the auto industry picked up on that evidently. And so this is one example of how a fixation on average and a number of other stories outside of engineering it's just fascinating. 0:23:01.4 AS: Let me just summarize. The End of Average by Todd Rose. And it was published in about 2016. It's got a 4.5 out of 5 review on Amazon with 1,000 ratings and has a very high for Goodreads review of about 4.1. So I'm definitely getting that one. I don't have it and I'm buying it. 0:23:22.1 BB: Yeah. And it's again, he, I believe in there he offers what we should do instead, which again, I think would be, benefit from an understanding of SoPK. And so, again, for the Deming enthusiast, there is stuff in those two books, which you'll just love. And the third book came out at, I think, 2020 during the pandemic, The Tyranny of Merit, that tyranny word again, by Michael Sandel from Harvard. And I believe we've spoken about him before. And it's the tyranny of meritocracy, which is the belief that I achieved my success all by myself. I earned the grade all by myself. Everything I've done, I've done all by myself. There is no greater system. And I've written... In fact I sent an email to Michael Sandel complimenting him for the book and trying to point out that everything he's talking about fits in very well with Deming's work and that the issues are bigger than that. 0:24:34.4 BB: And I have not yet heard back, but he's a busy guy. But those three books are I would say, must reads. Then I go on to say that, because I used earlier that Dr. Deming talked about we are living under the tyranny of the prevailing style of management. So then I looked. I wanted to, so what exactly is this tyranny stuff? I mean, I'm so used to the word, so I wanted to go back and get a definition. "Tyranny is often synonymous with cruelty and oppression." And I said, that's... Yeah. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. All right. 0:25:26.4 BB: So, next, I wanna talk about... In previous podcasts I talked about work at Rocketdyne, what we called an... In the beginning it was called A Thinking Roadmap. And then as we got turned on to thinking about thinking, we changed that to An InThinking Roadmap. And that constituted roughly 220 hours of training over a dozen or so courses. So we had a one day class in Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats, a one day class in his, in other, actually two days in some of his other. So anyways, we had a number of courses on de Bono's work. I had a 40-hour intro course to Taguchi methods and a 40-hour advanced class in Dr. Taguchi's work. We had a 9-hour session called Understanding Variation. We had a things we were trained in that were developed by others, and then things we designed ourselves. 0:26:36.6 BB: And in the courses are tools and techniques. So tools are a cell phone, a slide rule, a computer. And the technique is how do we use it? And they provide what Ackoff would call efficiency, but also a number of these courses were inspired by Dr. Deming and Russ Ackoff were about improving effectiveness. And I got into concepts and strategies. And then what I wanted to mention that I don't think I've mentioned before is the whole concept of an InThinking Roadmap, and in this thinking about our thinking, which is a big part of the theme for tonight is, as that was inspired by, in the early '90s, Rockwell, Rocketdyne was then part of Rockwell, every division of Rockwell had a technology roadmap. And that had to be presented to higher and higher levels. 0:27:33.3 BB: What technologies are developing? What's the roadmap? And so more and more and more I heard this tech roadmap, tech roadmap. And then with colleagues, we started thinking about thinking, we thought, we need to have a thinking roadmap to combine with the technology roadmap. So the technology roadmap is gonna be helping us enormously in terms of efficiency, but not effectiveness. And I thought to integrate those two is quite powerful, which is, again another reminder of why Dr. Deming's work is a brilliant foundation for the use of technology. Otherwise, what you end up doing in a non-Deming company is with a cell phone you can increase the speed of blame. 0:28:21.4 BB: All right. So then I went back since last time I did some more research into transformation and came up with some great thoughts from Russ Ackoff. Again, our dear friend Russ Ackoff. And this is from an article that Russ wrote on transformations. And he says, "transformation is not only require recognition of the difference between what is practiced and what is preached. He says a transformation called four years ago by Donald Schön in his book Beyond the Stable State," and this is a 1991 book, he said, "it requires a transformation in the way we think.” “Einstein," Russ says "put it powerfully and succinctly." He says, "without changing our patterns of thought, we'll not be able to solve the problems we created with our current pattern of thought." 0:29:08.2 BB: Russ continues. "I believe the pattern of thought that is required is systemic. It is difficult if at all possible to reduce the meaning of systemic thinking to a brief definition. Nevertheless, I try. Systemic thinking," again from Russ, "is holistic versus reductionist, synthetic versus analytic. Reductionist and analytic thinking derived properties from the whole, from the parts, from the properties of their parts. Holistic and synthetic thinking derived properties of parts, from the property of the whole that contains them." So I thought it was neat to go back and look at that. And then I want, more from Russ. "A problem never exists in isolation. It's surrounded by other problems in space and time. The more of a context of a problem that a scientist can comprehend, the greater are his chances of truly finding an adequate solution." 0:30:11.4 BB: And then, and so when I was going through this over the last few days, thinking, boy, I wish Dr. Deming defined transformation, it would've been, if he had an operational definition. But I thought, but wait a minute. 'Cause part of what I'm finding is, in my research, an article I came across years ago, Leading Change in the Harvard Business Review, a very popular article, 1995, by John Kotter, Why Transformations Fail. So Kotter uses that word and the title is Leading Change: Why Transformations Fail. And he is got establishing... Eight steps of transformation. "Establishing a sense of urgency, forming a powerful guiding coalition, creating a vision, communicating the vision, empowering others to act on the vision, planning for, and creating short-term wins." And under that step, Andrew, he's got a couple of steps, I'd like to get your thoughts on. One is "recognizing and rewarding employees involved in the improvements." So I thought, but of course this is transformation in the realm of the prevailing system of management. And so what that got me... Tossed around on it. I thought, well, wait a minute. There's a bunch of words that Dr. Deming uses that others use, but we know they mean something different. So Dr. Deming... 0:31:56.6 AS: Like I'm thinking, improvement is what he may be talking about. 0:32:02.4 BB: Well, but Dr. Deming talks about teamwork and the need to work together. Everybody talks about that. 0:32:08.1 AS: Yep. 0:32:09.2 BB: But just that we know, in a non-Deming environment, it's about managing actions, completing those tasks in isolation. I can meet requirements minimally, hand off to you, and that in a non-Deming environment, we call teamwork. So what I was thinking is, well, it's not that we need a new, 'cause I was even thinking, maybe we need a new word. Maybe in the Deming community, we should stop using the word transformation and come up with another word. Well, the trouble is, there's a whole bunch of other words that we use from teamwork to work together, to leader, quality. We talk about performance. We talk about root cause versus root causes. We talk about system. And so it's not that we need a new word, we need a new foundation. And that goes back to this notion as you read The New Economics or Out of the Crisis, you're hearing words that Dr. Deming uses that others use like John Kotter, but they're not used in the same context. 0:33:26.2 AS: How would you wrap up the main points you want people to take away from this discussion about transformation? 0:33:38.1 BB: Big thing is, we are talking about transformation. We are talking about seeing with new eyes, hearing with new ears. So the seeing, we talked about last time, is it's not just the systems. We're seeing systems differently. We're seeing variation differently. We're thinking differently about people and what motivates them and inspires them. The psychology piece, the theory of knowledge piece, we're challenging what we know. And then we have to think about all those interactions between two of them, between three of them, between four of them. And so I'd say that it's, the essence is transformation is essential. It is about rethinking our thinking. And I just wanna leave with two quotes. One fairly recent, one a little older. And the first quote, the more recent one from Tom Johnson, "How the world we perceive works depends upon how we think. The world we perceive," Andrew "is a world we bring forth through our thinking." 0:34:44.9 BB: That's H. Thomas Johnson, a dear friend in his 1999 book, Profit Beyond Measure. And my advice to people in reading that book is, do not attempt to read it laying down in bed. It's just, now you can read those other books we talked earlier. I think you can read those lying in bed. But Tom is very pithy. You wanna be wide awake. The last quote I wanna leave is from William James, born in 1842, died in 1910. He was an American philosopher, psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the US. He is considered to be a leading thinker of the late 19th century, the father of American psychology, one of the elements of Profound Knowledge. And his quote that I wanna leave you with, Andrew is, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." 0:35:45.2 AS: Whoa. Well, Bill, what an ending. On behalf of everyone at The Deming Institute, I want to thank you again for the discussion. For listeners, remember to go to deming.org to continue your journey. And if you want to keep in touch with Bill, just find him on LinkedIn. This is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with my favorite quote from Dr. Deming. "People are entitled to joy in work."
In this special episode, our guest is Mr. William Atkinson "Mr. Bill". His father was an airman in WWII serving in a B-24 Bomber Crew. Mr. Bill co-wrote a book with his father to recount his incredible story. In this episode Bill shares his story and the impact his father had on him. Below is a brief description of the book: James C. Atkinson began life the descendant of an impoverished farming family in rural east-central Mississippi. While a high school senior, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force and, like so many young men of his generation, left his home to fight for his country in WWII. After a year of rigorous training, he was qualified as a Radio Operator/Gunner on a B-24 bomber, and what began as the adventure of a lifetime for Sgt. Atkinson, ended in horror and tragedy in the war-torn skies over Ploesti, Romania. Though this is Dr. Atkinson's personal story, it is not unique. Rather, it is representative of the stories of legions of young men from the Greatest Generation who would face the challenge of rebuilding their lives after rising from the ashes of the most destructive war in history. Get the book here: https://a.co/d/2TmQMVu
In our next installation of Ogden's Masters of the Air, join us for Raymon C. Beus. A local Ogden boy who grew up from humble beginnings and left 148 33rd Street to join the Army Air Corps as a waist gunner in the B-17 known as "Hellcat". Beus was involved in the early air war of World War 2 and if you know about that you know how dicey things were in comparison to the later air war time period. So join us as we introduce you to Raymon, his father Heber, his mother Lucinda, and the others who fought for our freedoms in the skies over Europe on this our latest of Junction City Justice: Ogden's Masters of the Air. Ogden, Ogden Utah, Junction City, True Crime, Historic 25th Street, Two-Bit Street, Ogden True Crime, Utah True Crime, Police, Police Podcast, Tales of Policing, History, History Podcast
The Tuskegee Airmen stand as a towering symbol of African-American achievement and resilience in the face of systemic discrimination and adversity. Their story is not just one of overcoming the odds; it's a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who dared to dream big and prove their detractors wrong. As the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces, these brave men fought two wars: one against external enemies abroad during World War II and another against racism and segregation at home. Their legacy continues to inspire generations, serving as a beacon of courage, excellence, and patriotism. The Origins of the Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were part of an experimental program by the U.S. Army Air Corps to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The program was established at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, in 1941, partly due to civil rights organizations and the Black press advocating for the inclusion of African Americans in the military aviation programs. Despite the skepticism and prejudice from some military and civilian quarters, the Tuskegee Airmen went on to prove themselves as one of the most highly respected fighter groups during the war, flying thousands of missions with distinction and bravery. The Legacy Lives On: Youth Flight Programs The spirit of the Tuskegee Airmen lives on today through various youth flight programs across the country, particularly the ones held at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. These programs aim to introduce young African Americans and other youths to aviation and aeronautics, fostering an interest in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. One notable program is the Tuskegee Airmen Youth Flight Academy, which provides a comprehensive educational experience, including flight training, ground school, and leadership development. This initiative not only honors the legacy of the original Tuskegee Airmen but also opens new horizons for young people, encouraging them to reach for the skies in their aspirations and achievements. A Continuing Inspiration The Tuskegee Airmen's legacy is a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished with determination, skill, and the courage to challenge the status quo. The youth flight programs inspired by their story play a crucial role in nurturing the next generation of leaders, innovators, and aviators. By learning about the challenges and triumphs of the Tuskegee Airmen, young people can draw strength and inspiration from their heritage, understanding that they, too, can overcome obstacles and achieve greatness. In a world still grappling with issues of inequality and discrimination, the Tuskegee Airmen's story remains ever relevant, encouraging all of us to fight for justice and equality while pursuing our dreams with unwavering determination. Their legacy is not just about the past; it's a guiding light for the future, illuminating a path toward a world where everyone has the opportunity to soar to new heights. For more information, visit the website or send an email. email: wegotproblemspodcast@gmail.com Web: https://www.wegotproblemspodcast.com Networking Group Join We Got Problems After Dark Our Websites https://wegotproblemspodcast.com https://curtisgmartin.com https://rhondawritesofficial.com https://thetrashvegan.com Follow us on Social Media: @curtismartin247 Curtis G Martin @therhondalbrown Rhonda L Brown @the_trash_vegan_ Caliph Johnson Sr #curtisgmartin #rhondalbrown #caliphjohnsonsr #wegotproblemsafterdark #wegotproblemspodcast #therhondalbrown #the_trash_vegan_ #curtismartin247 #wegotproblems #wegotsolutions #CurtisGmartin #RhondaLBrown #CaliphJohnsonSr #LaChekaPhillips
This is an incredible week as our guest “Rosie” recalls his experiences growing up on a Kansas farm during the “Dust Bowl” years in the 1930s and going from austere beginnings to enlisting in the Army Air Corps on his 18th birthday. Not wanting to be an infantryman, Rosie passed the tests necessary and convinced the medics to let him fly when it looked like they might ground him. After training, he describes a brief respite home before going by train to the East Coast and boarding a ship for Italy; recounting an experience in Chicago that remained with him for the rest of the war. He opens the show with a tease of one of his missions, which he was certain would be his last. Only a few months earlier he had been a Kansas farm boy and now he found himself occupying the nose-gunner's turret on a B-17 Liberator. Ride along with us as we hear how he and his other very young crew members—boys, really—raised their hands together and became men, flying in a Liberator to defeat the greatest threat to the freedom of mankind in the 20th century.Riveting, funny, poignant—Rosie brings it all and lays it in our laps. It's no wonder he is part of that “Greatest Generation.”
Melvin Jenner was already in the Michigan Air National Guard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps and undergoing training for a bomber crew, he was soon flying missions in the European Theater of World War II. The next few years would bring him harrowing bomber missions, a secret flight over Normandy on D-Day, and an unforgettable role in the Berlin Airlift.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Jenner tells us how he ended up flying missions in the A-20 with the British Royal Air Force before he ever flew with an American crew - and about his shock when he discovered those missions with the UK did not count towards his total needed for a ticket home.Jenner also describes his roles as radio man and gunner on the B-17, the most tense missions of the war and what it was like to fly through flak. He also shares what he saw from the sky as he flew over the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.But Jenner's memorable career did not end with the war. He also shares an emotional recollection of serving in the Berlin Airlift as the U.S. flew in provisions to break the Soviet blockade there. Finally, he tells about his role in helping Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier.
Are you watching the Apple TV+ Mini-Series, “Masters of the Air”? Are you waiting for the next episode to appear? If you are, you'll want to join us on “Echoes of Valor: Podcasting ‘Masters of the Air'! Here, you can immerse yourself in the intricate world of WWII military aviation combat in the European Theater or Operations (ETO) with this—your essential aviation history podcast, presented by The World War II Foundation and The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. In this episode, our experts discuss the unparalleled strategic bombing analysis and bomber crew and fighter pilot narratives that defined air combat in the ETO, as vividly portrayed in "Masters of the Air." Lieutenant John Morgan Flight Command Decisions: Exploring WWII Technological Advancements Join Colonel Jim Fryer (USAF, Ret.), a decorated B-52, C-17, and KC-10 aviator, along with Colonel Mark Morgan (USA, RET), an amateur historian with a direct lineage to the legendary John Cary (Red) Morgan (Mark is his Grandson), along with our official host, COL Tom Rendall (USA, Ret) guiding the discussion and offering his own exceptional insights! One of the 8th Air Force's Medal of Honor recipients. These military aviation experts discuss the accuracy of air force operations in WWII, examining the series' depiction of pivotal bombing raids from Regensburg to Schweinfurt, and their consequential role in shaping the course of the war. In this episode, you will hear clips from the oral history of Captain Frank Murphy, from the Frank Murphy Collection at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. Frank Murphy also wrote the outstanding account of his experiences in the book, “Luck of the Draw.” This exciting work reads like a novel and is source material for the mini-series Masters of the Air.” We will post the full interview with Frank Murphy on a separate sub-episode of our Echoes of Valor podcast series! Future Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry points to a spot on a map of France when he was a co-pilot of a B-17 flying fortress in World War II. From November, 1944 to April. 1945 he completed a combat tour of 30 missions, and survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel. Landry had signed up for the U.S. Army Air Corps in honor of his brother, Robert Landry, had been killed while ferrying a B-17 over the North Sea to England in September, 1942. After the war, Tom resumed his studies at UT-Austin and then went on to NFL glory. Tom was from Mission, Texas. Technological Triumphs in WWII Aviation This episode sheds light on the rapid technological advancements in military aviation that were critical to the Allies' success. Our guests articulate how these innovations transformed aerial combat history, influencing the tactics, strategies and outcomes of crucial air battles. Radio Interview with Lieutenant Joe Graham Anticipating the Future of Air Warfare Narratives As we await further episodes of 'Masters of the Air,' our guests offer forecasts on the key historical elements and figures that should emerge. They offer a glimpse into the untold stories and the relentless spirit of the 8th Air Force that await discovery. Join us and tell us your views on the unfolding narratives of WWII air warfare as depicted in "Masters of the Air." Subscribe to “Echoes of Valor” to be part of this compelling journey through the annals of military aviation history, “where the past is always present.” Portrait of John Morgan on Exhibit John Morgan receiving the Medal of Honor from Ira Eaker, December 1943 John Morgan's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery Photos of John Morgan from the Roger Freeman Collection of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Disclaimer: This podcast, titled 'Echoes of Valor: Podcasting Masters of the Air'—a collaborative production by the World War II Foundation and the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, is an independent, unofficial companion commentary and is not affiliated with, authorized, maintained, sponsored, or endorsed by the creators or producers of the Apple TV+ miniseries 'Masters of the Air' or any of its affiliates. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the producers or creators of 'Masters of the Air.' All content provided in this podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. 'Echoes of Valor: Podcasting Masters of the Air' does not utilize any proprietary audio, visual, or narrative elements from the 'Masters of the Air' miniseries. This podcast is intended to offer commentary, critique, context, and analysis of the themes, content, and production of the miniseries and is protected under fair use doctrine.
The US Space Force, the newest branch of the American military, takes national defense to a new frontier. Here on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I sit down with AEI senior fellow Todd Harrison to discuss the state of the Space Force and its evolving mission.Harrison has served as senior vice president and head of research at Metrea, a defense consulting firm, been a senior fellow for defense budget strategies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, directed the Defense Budget Analysis and Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and served as a captain in the US Air Force Reserve.In This Episode* Creating the Space Force (0:53)* A New Kind of Warfare (9:15)* Defining the Mission (11:40)* Conflict and Competition in Space (15:34)* The Danger of Space Debris (20:11)Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversationCreating the Space Force (0:53)Pethokoukis: I was recently looking at an image that showed the increase in the number of satellites around the earth, and it's been a massive increase; I imagine a lot of it has to do with SpaceX putting up satellites, and it's really almost like—I think to an extent that most people don't understand; between government, military, and a lot of commercial satellites—it's really like the earth is surrounded by this information shell. And when looking at that, I couldn't help but think, “Yeah, it kind of seems like we would need a Space Force or something to keep an eye on that and protect that.” And I know there was a lot of controversy, if I'm not mistaken, like, “Why do we need this extra branch of government?” Is that controversy about why we need a Space Force, is that still an active issue and what are your thoughts?Harrison: To start with where you started, yes. The number of satellites in space has been growing literally exponentially in the past few years. I'll just throw a few numbers out there: In 2023 alone, about 2,800 new satellites were launched, and in that one year it increased the total number of satellites on the orbit by 22 percent, just in one year. And all the projections are that the number of satellites, number of launches, are going to keep growing at a pace like that for the foreseeable future, for the next several years. A lot is going into space, and we know from all other domains that where commerce goes conflict will follow. And we are seeing that in space as well.Like the Navy protecting the shipping lanes. Yeah, exactly. So we know that to a certain extent that's inevitable. There will be points of contention, points of conflict, but we've already seen that in space just with the military dimension of our space. Back in 2007, I think a lot of the world woke up to the fact that space is a contested environment when the Chinese tested an anti-satellite weapon, which, by the way, produced thousands of pieces of space debris that are still in orbit today. More than 2,600 pieces of debris are still in orbit from that one Chinese ASAT test. And, of course, that was just one demonstration of counter-space capabilities. Space has been a contested war fighting domain, really, since the beginning of the Space Age. The first anti-satellite test was in 1959, and so it has become increasingly important for economic reasons, but also for military reasons. Now, when the Space Force debate kicked into high gear, I think it took a lot of people who weren't involved in military space, I think it took a lot of people by surprise that we were having this debate.Yeah, it really seemed like it came out of nowhere, I think probably for 99 percent of people who aren't professionals tracking the issue.In reality, that debate, it started in the 1990s, and there was a senator from up in New Hampshire who had written a journal article basically talking about, “Hey, we need to separate space into its own military service.” You had the Air Force chief of staff at the time in the mid-1990s, General Ron Fogleman. He said that the Air Force should eventually become an Air and Space Force, and then one day a Space and Air Force. So you had the seeds of it happening in the '90s. Then you had Congress wanting to look at, “Okay, how do we do this? How do we reorganize military space?” They created a commission that was led by Donald Rumsfeld before he became Secretary of Defense for the second time. That commission issued its report in 2001, and it recommended a bunch of reforms, but it said in the midterm, in five to 10 years we should create a separate military service for space, something like a Space Corps.Nothing happened, even though Rumsfeld then became Secretary of Defense. We kind of took our focus off of it for a while, there were a few other studies that went on, and then in 2016, two members of Congress, a Republican and a Democrat, Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper, who were on the House Armed Services Committee, they took this issue up. They got so fed up with the oversight of looking at how the Air Force was shortchanging space in many ways in terms of personnel and training and funding and modernization, that they then put a provision into the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that would've created a Space Corps, they called it: a separate military service for space. And that bill actually passed the full House of Representatives.The Senate did not have a similar provision in their bill, so it died. It didn't make it into law—but then, all of a sudden, a couple of years later, President Trump, pretty much out of the blue floats this idea of creating a Space Force, and he did it at a rally that was at a Marine Corps base out in California, and, for some reason, it caught on with Trump. And then you already had the votes, a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives who had already pushed this, and so it started to gain momentum.It was very controversial at the time. The secretary of the Air Force at that time was adamantly opposed to it. Eventually, Trump forced it on the civilian establishment at DoD, and Congress ultimately enacted it, and the Space Force became a military service in December… I think December 20th, 2019. Now, there was some question, will the Biden administration keep it?Is this here to stay?It is written into law, so a president cannot unilaterally take it away, and, at this point, it's got its own roots in the ground and the Space Force is not going anywhere.A little bit off topic, but was there a similar debate when they separated the Air Force out of the Army?There was, yeah, and it lasted for a long time. So you had folks like Billy Mitchell who were in the Army Air Corps way back before World War II—I think in the late '20s, early '30s—they were advocating for a separate military service for Air. And I believe Billy Mitchell actually got court marshaled because he disobeyed orders from a superior about advocating for this with Congress.And so the idea of a separate service for Air pretty much died out until World War II hit. And, of course, that was a war that we were brought into it by an attack that came from the air, and that really brought air power into full effect in terms of a major component of military power. So then, at the end of World War II, the Air Power advocates got together, they created the Air Force Association to advocate for a separate military service and they got it in the National Security Reform Act in 1947, I think the Air Force actually stood up in 1948.It took longer, I would argue, a lot more advocacy and it took a World War, a crisis, to show us how important Air was to the military in order for us to actually create an Air Force. Now, I think, thankfully, we did that in advance of a crisis in terms of creating the Space Force.Right now, what the Space Force does, is it tracking satellites, tracking and space debris, is it a monitoring and tracking service? It's not a fighting service yet?Well, yes and no. A lot of what the Space Force does on a day-to-day basis is they provide space-enabling capabilities to the other military services. So if you want to get intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance from space, you can go to the Space Force. Separately, we have intel space that's run through the National Reconnaissance Office—that has not changed its organization. If you want to get GPS, the Space Force runs our GPS constellation of satellites, and they're responsible for defending it against all forms of attack, which it is attacked daily. If you want satellite communications, the Space Force delivers that. If you want missile warning… So the Space Force delivers lots of enabling capabilities for other parts of the military. At the same time, it is tasked with defending those capabilities, and it's not just against kinetic forms of attack where an adversary is literally trying to shoot a satellite out of the sky.A New Kind of Warfare (9:15)I guess that's the first thing that popped in my mind. Too much science fiction maybe, but…Well, that is real, that's a real threat. The truth is there's not a lot you can do to actively protect against that—at least, we don't have a lot of capabilities right now—but the forms of attack we see on a daily basis are cyber, electromagnetic, and other forms of non-kinetic attack like lazing the sensors on a satellite. You could temporarily, or even permanently, blind the sensors on a satellite with a laser from an aircraft or from a ground station.I'll give you an example: When Russia invaded Ukraine, at the very beginning of the invasion, one of the first attacks they launched was a space attack. It was cyber, and it was against a commercial space capability. What they did is they exploited a vulnerability, previously unknown, in ViaSat modems. ViaSat's, a commercial satellite communications company, they had some sort of a vulnerability in their modems. The Russians, through a cyber attack, basically bricked all those modems. They locked them out. The Ukrainian military relied on ViaSat for satellite communications, so it locked up all of their terminals right at the beginning. They could not communicate using Satcom. Incidentally, it locked up lots of ViaSat terminals across Europe in that same attack. So we see this happening all the time. Russian forces are constantly jamming GPS signals. That makes weapons and drones much less effective. They can't use GPS for targeting once they go into a GPS-denied environment.But the Space Force has ways to overcome that. We have protected military GPS signals, we have ways of increasing the strength of those signals to overcome jamming. There's lots of things you can do with counter-space and then counter to the counter-space.The problem is that we kind of sat on our laurels and admired our advantage in space for a couple of decades and did not make a concerted effort to improve the protection of our space systems and develop our own capability to deny others the advantage of space because others didn't have that same advantage for a long time.Well, that has changed, and the creation of the Space Force, I think, has really set us in a positive new direction to get serious about space defense and to get serious about denying others the advantage of space if we need to.Defining the Mission (11:40)The Chief of Space Operation at the Space Force recently published a short white paper, which I guess begins to lay out kind of a doctrine, like, “What is the mission? How do we accomplish this mission?” Probably the first sort of Big Think piece maybe since Space Force became a branch. What did that white paper say? What do you make of it?Yeah, so I think one of the criticisms of military space for a while has been that we didn't really have space strategy, space doctrine, we didn't have a theory of space power that was well developed. I would argue we had some of those, but it's fair to say that they have not been that well developed. Well, one of the reasons you need a military service is to actually get the expertise that is dedicated to this domain to think through those things and really develop them and flesh them out, and so that's what this white paper did, and I think it did a pretty good job of it, developing a theory of space power. He calls it a “theory of success for competitive endurance in the space domain.”And one of the things I thought was really great that they highlight in the paper, that a lot of US government officials in the past have been reluctant to talk about, is the fact that we are under attack on a daily basis—gray zone-type aggression in the space domain—and we've got to start pushing back against that. And we've got to actually be willing and able to exercise our own defensive and counter-space capabilities, even in the competition phase before we actually get to overt conflict, because our adversaries are doing it already. They're doing it to us. We need to be able to brush them back. We're not talking about escalating and starting a conflict or anything like that, but when someone jams our satellite communication systems or GPS, they need to feel some consequences. Maybe something similar happens to their own space capabilities, or maybe we employ capabilities that show them we can overcome what you're doing. So I thought that was a good part of the theory of success is you can't just sit by and let an adversary degrade your space capabilities in the competition phase.How much of the focus of Space Force currently, and maybe as that paper discussed what the department's mission is, focused on the military capabilities, protecting military capabilities, the military capabilities of other nations, versus what you mentioned earlier was this really expanding commercial element which is only going to grow in importance?Today, the vast majority of the Space Force's focus is on the military side of providing that enabling military capability that makes all of our forces more effective, protecting that capability, and then, to a lesser extent, being able to interfere with our adversaries' ability to use space for their own advantage.They are just now starting to really grapple with, “Okay, is there a role for the Space Force in protecting space commerce, protecting commercial space capabilities that may be economically important, that may be strategically important to us and our allies, but are not directly part of a military capability?” They're starting to think through that now, and it really is the Space Force taking on a role in the future that is more like the Navy. The Navy does fight and win wars, of course, but the Navy also has a role in patrolling the seas and ensuring the free flow of commerce like we see the US Navy doing right now over in the Red Sea: They're helping protect ships that need to transit through that area when Houthi Rebels are targeting them. Do we need that kind of capability and space? Yeah, I think we do. It is not a huge priority now, but it is going to be a growing priority in the future.Conflict and Competition in Space (15:34)I don't know if such things even currently exist, but if you have satellites that can kill other satellites, do those exist and does the Space Force run them?Satellites that can kill other satellites, absolutely. That is a thing that exists. A lot of stuff is kept classified. What we know that's unclassified is, back in the 1960s and early '70s, the Soviets conducted many tests—a couple of dozen tests—of what they call a co-orbital anti-satellite system, that is a satellite that can kill another satellite, and there's still debris in space from some of those tests back in the '60s and '70s.We also know, unclassified, that China and Russia have on-orbit systems that appear to be able to rendezvous with other satellites, get very close. We've seen the Russians deploy a satellite that appeared to fire a projectile at another Russian satellite—looks like a test of some sort of a co-orbital weapon. So yes, those capabilities are out there. They do exist. We've never seen a capability like that used in conflict, though, not yet, but we know they existLooking forward a decade… One can imagine a lot more satellites, multiple space platforms, maybe some run by the private sector, maybe others not. One could imagine permanent or semi-permanent installations on the moon from different countries. Are plans being made to protect those things, and would the Space Force be the one protecting them? If you have a conflict between the Chinese military installation on the moon and the American, would that be in the Space Force domain? Again, it seems like science fiction, but I don't think it's going to seem like science fiction before too long.Well, that's right. We're not at that point today, but are we going to be at that point in 10, 20, 30 years? Perhaps. There are folks in the Space Force, like in the chief scientist's office that have thought about these things; they publish some papers on it. There's no real effort going into that right now other than thinking about it from an academic perspective. Should that be in the mandate of the Space Force? Well, I think it already is, it's just there's not a need for it yet, and so it's something to keep an eye on.Now, there are some rules, if you will, international agreements that would suggest, “Okay, some of these things should not happen.” Doesn't mean they won't; but, for example, the main treaty that governs how nations operate in space is the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The Outer Space Treaty specifically says that you can't claim territory in space or on any celestial body like the moon or Mars, and it specifically says you cannot put a military installation on any celestial body.So, should China put a military base on the moon, they would be clearly violating the Outer Space Treaty. If China puts a scientific installation that happens to have some military capabilities on it, but they don't call it that, well, you know, what are we going to do? Are we going to call them before the United Nations and complain? Or if China says, “Hey, we've put a military installation in this key part of the lunar South Pole where we all believe that there is ice water, and if anyone tries to land anywhere near us, you're going to interfere with our operations, you might kick up dust on us, so we are establishing a keep-out zone of some very large area around this installation.”I think that there are some concerns that we could be headed in that direction, and that's one of the reasons NASA is pushing forward with the Artemis program to return humans to the moon and a set of international agreements called the Artemis Accords, where we've gotten, I think, more than 20 nations now to agree to a way of operating in the lunar environment and, to a certain extent, in Earth orbit as well, which will help make sure that the norms that develop in space, especially in deep space operating on the moon, are norms that are conducive to free and open societies and free markets. And so I give credit to former NASA administrator, Jim Breidenstein and the Trump administration; he came up with the Artemis Accords. I think it was wonderful. I would love to see us go even further, but NASA is still pursuing that and still signing up more countries to the Artemis Accords, and when they sign up to that, they can be part of our effort to go back to moon and the Artemis program, and right now we are on track to get there and put humans back on the moon before China. I just hope we keep it that way.The Danger of Space Debris (20:11)Let me finish up with a question based on something you've mentioned several times during our conversation, which is space debris and space junk. I see more and more articles about the concerns. How concerned are you about this? How should I think about that issue?Yeah, it is a concern, and, I mean, the physics of the space domain are just fundamentally different than what we see in other domains. So, in space, depending on what orbit you're in, if something breaks up into pieces, those pieces keep orbiting Earth indefinitely. If you are below about 600 kilometers, those pieces of debris, there's a tiny amount of atmospheric drag, and, depending on your mass and your surface area and solar weather and stuff, eventually things 600 kilometers and below are going to reenter the Earth atmosphere and burn up in weeks, months, years.Once you get above about 600 kilometers, things start staying up there much longer. And when you get out to geostationary orbit, which is 36,000 kilometers above the surface of the earth, those things aren't coming down, ever, not on their own. They're staying up there. So the problem is, imagine every time there was a shipwreck, or a car wreck, or a plane crash, that all of the debris kept moving around the earth forever. Eventually it adds up. And space, it's a very large volume, yes, but this stuff is whizzing by, if you're in low-earth orbit, you're going around 17,000 miles per hour constantly. And so you've got close approach after close approach, day after day, and then you run the risk of debris hitting debris, or debris hitting other satellites, and then creating more debris, and then increasing the odds that this happens again and again, the movie Gravity gave a dramatic effect to this.I was thinking about that scene as you're explaining this.Yeah. The timeline was very compressed in that movie, but something like that, the Kessler Syndrome, is theoretically possible in the space domain, so we do have to watch out for it. Debris is collecting, particularly in low Earth orbit above 600 kilometers, and ASAT tests are not helpful at all to that. So one of the things the Biden administration did is they instituted a unilateral moratorium on antisatellite testing by the United States. Well, it's easy for us to do. We didn't need to do any anti-satellite tests anymore because we already know we can do that. We have effective capabilities and we wouldn't want to use kinetic anti-satellite attacks anyway, 'cause it would hurt our own systems.We have been going around trying to get other countries to sign up to that as well, to a moratorium on ASAT testing. It's a good first step, but really you need Russia and China. They need to sign up to not do that anymore. And India, India conducted a kinetic ASAT test back in, I think, 2019. So those are the countries we really need to get on board with that.But there's a lot of accidental debris production that happens as well. When countries leave a spent rocket body up in orbit and then something happens. You know, a lot of times they leave their fuel tanks pressurized or they leave batteries on there, after five, 10 years in orbit, sometimes these things explode randomly, and then that creates a debris field. So there's more that we can do to kind of reach international agreements about just being smart stewards of the space domain. There are companies out there that are trying to work on technologies to clean up space debris. It's very hard. That is not something that's on the immediate horizon, but those are all efforts that should be ongoing. It is something to be concerned about.And actually, to circle back to the chief of space operations and his theory of success in his white paper, that's one of the tensions that he highlights in there, is that we want to use space for military advantage, including being able to deny other countries the ability to use space. But at the same time, we want to be good stewards of the space domain and so there's an inherent tension in between those two objectives, and that's the needle that the Space Force is trying to thread.I have one final question, and you may have no answer for it: If we were to track a large space object headed toward Earth, whose job would it be to stop it?So it would be NASA's job to spot it, to find objects like near-Earth orbit asteroids. Whose job is it to stop it? I think we would be figuring that out on the fly. First of all, we would have to figure out, can we stop it? Is there a way to stop it? And it would probably require some sort of an international effort, because we all have a common stake in that, but yeah, it is not in anyone's job jar.Faster, Please! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fasterplease.substack.com/subscribe
Art Palmer is a child of the dust bowl and self-admitted "hobo" who joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and piloted B-24 Liberators during World War 2. Art's plane was shot down on his 50th mission and he spent the remainder of the war as a German prisoner.Now, at 104-year-young, Art shares his recollections with guest host Matt "Flounder" Arny, proving why his truly was the Greatest Generation.To read the book of stories and prisoner poems compiled by Art's late wife, visit our Patreon page.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations
Joe Peterburs was on track to become a priest. All of that changed when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The next year, Peterburs joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and trained to be a fighter pilot. He mastered the P-40, but by the time he got to England in late 1944, the P-51 was waiting for him.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Joe Peterburs takes us through his service in World War II as he began a military career lasting more than 36 years.You'll hear about his first mission and a whole lot more about his last one...including how he shot down a German ace, got shot down himself on the very same day, was taken prisoner, and ended up fighting alongside Russians. And he shares the tale of an unthinkable reunion.Also, watch next week for the second part of our interview with Col. Peterburs, as he tells about his service in Korea and Vietnam.
Richard Baughn served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and then the U.S. Air Force for more than 30 years both active duty and reserve. He retired as a brigadier general. Gen. Baughn's passion was flying and he put it to excellent use as a P-51 pilot over Europe in World War II and flying the F-104 and F-105 in Vietnam.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Gen. Baughn takes us along on his missions in World War II, both as a fighter escort for American bombers and his frequent strafing missions against German airfields. He also tells us about his most memorable aerial combat and the often overlooked role that air power played at the Battle of the Bulge.Baughn also tells us about his top secret work in Europe during the Korean War to deter any mischief from the Soviet Union and his inside role developing fighter jets such as the F-100, F-104, and F-105.From there, Gen. Baughn describes his leadership roles in the Vietnam War, the excellent men he served with, and the frustrating rules of engagement that he says tied the hands of American pilots and significantly endangered theirt lives.Finally, Baughn details his time leading the Air Force Tactical Fighter Weapons School during the war and his assignment in Saigon during the final months before it fell to the Communists.
John 'Lucky" Luckadoo wanted to join the war effort against Nazi Germany even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He and a friend hatched a plan to join the service in Canada until Lucky's father refused to allow it. But his friend went through with it. After Pearl Harbor, while in his first year at college, Luckadoo joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. Before long he was assigned to be a co-pilot in the "Bloody 100th" bomb group. He would be one of the few to survive 25 missions early in the war and earn a trip home.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," 101-year-old Lucky Luckadoo takes us into his ups and downs of flight training to the challenges of co-piloting a B-17 bomber. He tells us about the mission where he nearly lost his toes to frostbite and his most harrowing mission after losing an engine while under intense anti-aircraft fire.Luckadoo also shares how he advanced from co-pilot to pilot to operations officer, the evolution of using fighters to keep the bombers safe, what he sees as the legacy of the Bloody 100th, and the tragic conclusion of his friend's service in the war.
Whitey Johnson was a farm kid from Minnesota who had the chance to fly a crop duster when he was a teenager. The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he stood in line to join the U.S. Army Air Corps.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Johnson describes his excitement at being assigned to the Flying Tigers, serving on the Shanghai Raids and his heart-pounding drama of being shot down and nearly captured while being hidden by the Chinese.
In 2008, Tim Peake answered an advert from the European Space Agency looking for astronauts. Six years later he became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and carry out a spacewalk. But Tim didn't always want to be an astronaut. As a child, he fell in love with flying and pursued a career in aviation. He progressed from the school Cadet Corps to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and then into the Army Air Corps. By the time Tim retired from the British Army as a major, he was regarded as a highly talented, hugely professional pilot. Just the kind of person the European Space Agency was looking for. After his six-month space mission, Tim returned to the UK to work and engage students in STEM. This year, he became the European Space Agency's first honorary STEM ambassador. He has also written several best-selling books and hosted a TV series about space. Tim's new book, Space: The Human Story is out on 26th October.
Episode: 2787 Doolittle's Tokyo raid: Much more than the mere gesture it seemed to be. Today, a costly gesture that may've saved America.
On this episode of Our American Stories, Clark Gable was beyond the draft age when the U.S. entered World War II, but the 41-year-old enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps. He said: “I just want to be sent where the going is rough.” Here to tell the story is Roger McGrath. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From Navy SEAL sniper with Special Operations and Intelligence Community experience to Co-Founder of Caim Technology, a counter human trafficking organization. That's this week's Team Never Quit Podcast guest, Jeremy Mahugh. Marcus and Jeremy get in the weeds regarding Jeremy's involvement in the development of cell phone app technology capable of identifying potential human trafficking risks as a preventive measure against being victimized. Caim Technology www.caim.tech In this episode you will hear: • [While in a float tank] I thought, “I wonder what it'd feel like if I just rolled over?”. I got the salt in my nose, and eyes, and ears, and the rest of the hour was shot. (8:41) • Everybody has the ability to travel now, but some people still don't. (15:24) • [My grandfather] was in the Army Air Corps and was shot down over Yugoslavia in World War II. He was a POW. (22:44) • I'm still not sure if they know what soccer is in Texas. (24:03) • I just wanted to be part of a team – I wanted to part of something that was gonna push me to be better. (27:26) • [Caim Technology] is focused on collecting any kind of data on human trafficking or exploitation. (57:39) • One of the things that's been missing is having a tool to put in the hands of the consumer. So we have a mobile app that will tell you if you're interacting with someone in the [human trafficking] database. (58:02) • You can connect a consumer with a product via smart phone. That's also happening in the human trafficking world. (59:51) • Q: Is the app available? A: We're probably a month or two away from being launched. We're collecting data from a multitude of websites. (66:11) • It will go to the app store soon, and has to go through beta testing. (66:30) • Technology has gotten to the point that it is everything to us. (70:22) • It's the Wild West. There's never been good parameters on how [AI] can be used. (75:16) • Everybody has a need to deal with this [Caim App] and has a need for good information. (78:04) • What I love about what we're doing now is we're here to support all of you. Our for-profit is there to make money, but provide tools and prevention and have a huge hammer in the fight against human trafficking. (82:15)